FM Cloud and AWS convertible instance?

If a client already has an AWS EC2 convertible 3yr Reserved Instance (Windows), can that be converted into a Linux instance for use with FM Cloud? I could not find any documentation on this. I want to say that it should be possible, but it is another one of those FM Cloud mysteries and not having the answer is keeping them away from moving to FM Cloud for another few years if this is not possible.

The purchase of a reserved instance is not directly related to a specific EC2 instance. The RI is really just a commitment to a certain set of payment terms. When you have an available RI that matches the attributes of a running EC2 instance, the terms of the RI are used for billing rather than the on-demand pricing.

You can create the instance before you purchase an RI. It will be billed at the on-demand pricing until you decide to purchase an RI. You can also have an RI without a corresponding instance running, but then you’re paying for something you aren’t using.

There’s really nothing special about FileMaker Cloud when it comes to reserved instances. Purchasing a reserved instance can be done before or after setting up a FileMaker Cloud instance. Just make sure the region, instance type, OS, etc. match the requirements of the type of reserved instance you purchase.

greglane I get that if FMC is setup as OnDemand and the account has an RI in the same AZ and the instance is the same family (t2) that it will actually be billed at the RI price and not the OnDemand price. So I guess this should work with an existing RI and FM Cloud.

When the RI is purchased it is purchased for Windows and it at a higher cost than the same instance for Linux. The thing I am really wanting is some insight on is changing from Windows to Linux for the RI. I cannot find anything on AWS about this.

The cost to play with this is and figure it out is too high. Especially since there is no FDS for FMC and the t2.small for BYOL is no longer available. Client wants to know what they are getting into and know there is a path to successfully changing the deployment from Windows to FMC using the existing RI they have. No surprises. If I do not have the answers they will not make the move. The reason I provide them for not having the answers is that FMI has very weak documentation about FMC and AWS is not clear about if this is possible. They have also looked for themselves and found that this is pretty much true.

When the RI is purchased it is purchased for Windows and it at a higher cost than the same instance for Linux. The thing I am really wanting is some insight on is changing from Windows to Linux for the RI. I cannot find anything on AWS about this.

As far as I am aware, the RI is purchased with an OS and cannot be changed to a different OS :

I’ve only worked with standard reserved instances, so take anything I say about convertible RIs with a grain of salt. My understanding from the following page is that each convertible RI has a list value and you can use the AWS EC2 console (or command line tools, if you prefer) to see the list value and the difference you’ll pay when exchanging for one or more different convertible RIs.

I agree the cost (both time and dollars) is high for figuring this stuff out. The more we share with each other, the easier it gets…I’ve learned a lot from others in these forums. I was hoping to do another DevCon session on FileMaker Cloud this year, but that’s not going to happen. I’ll try to do a few blog posts in the coming months about some of the things we’ve learned. I’m still a big fan of FileMaker Cloud for a lot of situations, but it certainly isn’t a fit for everyone.